Knowledge Library

Sports Sponsorship

"It is no longer sufficient to sponsor the right thing - you have to do the sponsorship right."
David Butler - API Group Media Director

The trend in the industry is to become more focused on developing a
relationship with the consumer - your customer/potential customer - that
connects your product with your market in a more intimate manner.

Alternative marketing as in sports sponsorships is growing in that it
has become a year-round opportunity market, e.g. television, radio and
other media on specialists sports and sport shows, amateur and
professional events, local and global and celebrities.

The key is not to view sports sponsorship as classical advertising, but
as a marketing tool in its own right (one tool amongst a great number of
other opportunities). It is there to cut through the clutter and
provide you with 'ownership' opportunities.

Different industries are becoming more and more involved in sponsoring
sport as part of their alternative marketing plans. They use it to
create brand awareness and to position their company and its products in
line with the lifestyle of their customers - integrated into their
overall marketing strategy. Companies are as diverse as cellular
networks, banks, fuel and beer manufacturers, cigarette and alcohol
companies, banks, etc.

Companies are looking for the best exposure for their money. Return on
advertising Rand spends. It is estimated that not more than
approximately 20% of your advertising budget should be spend on
sponsorships.

To ensure that your investment is secure you need a Sponsorship Blue
Print that will establish your strategic foundation for all
sponsorships. It will also eliminate getting lost in your competitors
programs and initiatives. The Blue Print should pin-point your
quantifiable objectives and target markets and ensure that you meet the
objectives and requirements of the sport that you sponsor, e.g. profile
and marketing alignment between both parties.

The drawbacks in sport sponsorship are that it cannot accurately be
measured. It can become unfocused and not trackable. People are more
concerned with their sport than the people who have brought it to them.
64% of the people say that their purchasing habits were in no way
influenced by sponsorships. (90% of SA sports sponsorships fail from a
marketing point of view.)

Your market penetration will be affected depending on the number of
sponsors on a particular sport. In SA the trend is towards sport
development programs for the previously disadvantaged people. Get
involved early and grow with it rather than later because of the
expense. Also use it as a springboard into the market of opportunity.

Merchandising follow-through is an important ingredient in the make-up
of a successful sports sponsorship. Rand for rand investment.

The fundamentals of an effective sponsorship:

It must be active, e.g. placing representatives in retail outlets, etc.

It must be innovative. Focus from visibility to likeability and interact with your market.

It must be meaningful. Concentrate on developing intrinsic and marketing value.

It must be experiential. Interactive involvement adds value between client and product.

Sponsorship is the business link between commercial companies and events or activities, through the provision of funds and services to achieve a predetermined marketing and communication objective. Primarily this tends to be the corporate or brand exposure via the media and in addition, superb PR, promotional and business returns, which benefit the sponsor's internal and external relationships